Monk Mingli

Lu Feng had yet to answer when Zhiyun stopped, turned to look at "Yongzhen," and said, "Yongzhen, you must not sink into greed and anger.

"I do not know where you learned of the King Mingzhu Dharma Protector Mantra, but none of the monks in this entire temple, not even the Abbot Venerable, has taken King Mingzhu as his Yidam.

"Whether they worship a Yidam or a secret Yidam, none of the lamas ever considered worshipping King Mingzhu as their Yidam when they received empowerment.

"It is not because King Mingzhu's Dharma lineage is insufficiently exalted.

"Quite the opposite. The King Mingzhu Dharma Lineage is far too exalted—so exalted that ordinary monks are not even capable of visualizing King Mingzhu himself as their Yidam.

"King Mingzhu's Dharma lineage is transmitted only within our Endless White Pagoda Temple. He is the master of the distant sacred mountain, the Dharma Protector of our Endless White Pagoda Temple, a Malevolent Deity, Dragon God, and Mountain God whom our 'great scholar' monks subdued beneath the sacred mountain.

"Worship this Yidam, and your standing will become exceptionally exalted as well. Even Elder Mingfa will be unable to do anything to you.

"But to worship King Mingzhu, you must possess the instinct to subjugate anger, subjugate power, and subjugate stillness.

"To worship King Mingzhu, you must comprehend the primordial origin of wisdom, the true meaning of death, and through these, the great wisdom that subjugates death.

"You must possess both active and passive virtues, control life, suppress the desires in your heart, and possess the sixteen emptinesses. You must be brave enough to sever the vajra treasury of carnal desire, and be able to realize the resolve for renunciation through death.

"And these are merely the qualities a student must possess when receiving empowerment.

"These qualities are no easy matter even for a monk of the sixth-stage order, while great monks who have already cultivated to this level already have Yidams. They have no need to seek out King Mingzhu as their Yidam."

Zhiyun said, "Knowing this, do you still wish to choose King Mingzhu as your Yidam?"

Lu Feng said, "In answer to you, Lama, choosing King Mingzhu was the result of repeated deliberation, not a momentary impulse."

"Very well."

Seeing this, Zhiyun did not try to persuade him further. Having said this much, he had already done all that kindness and duty required.

What came next was simply to proceed according to Lu Feng's wishes.

He led Lu Feng down the steps. As they left the Debate Hall, they encountered Elder Mingli at the entrance, dressed in red monastic robes with a shoulder bag on his back. He seemed to be waiting for the two of them. As the third-ranking figure beneath the Discipline Elder, Elder Mingli had no fear of Mingfa whatsoever. He belonged neither to the Tusi monks nor to the Dzongben monks.

At the sight of him, Zhiyun hurriedly pressed his palms together and bowed. "Martial Uncle Mingli."

Lu Feng also bowed. "Elder Mingli."

Elder Mingli did not return their greetings and merely handed the shoulder bag to Lu Feng. Lu Feng opened it and found, to his surprise, prayer beads, copper coins, and several pieces of Tibetan Incense left over from this Great Offering. At the sight, Lu Feng pressed his palms together again, took out the prayer beads that looked most valuable to him, and offered them to Elder Mingli.

Elder Mingli gladly accepted the offering and hung it around his neck. Lu Feng took out more prayer beads and offered them to Zhiyun, who accepted them as well. Only then did Lu Feng thank them and offer to give the money to the two of them.

Zhiyun was the first to refuse. "You will have plenty of uses for this money in the future. Keep it for yourself."

Elder Mingli asked, "Have you received a Dharma name?"

Lu Feng said, "In answer to you, Elder, this humble monk's Dharma name is Yongzhen."

Elder Mingli asked, "Have you chosen a Yidam Lama?"

Lu Feng said, "I have not chosen a Yidam Lama."

Elder Mingli asked, "Have you chosen a Yidam?"

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Lu Feng said, "I wish to devote myself wholeheartedly to worshipping King Mingzhu."

Elder Mingli's gaze shifted slightly. Looking down at Lu Feng, he fixed his needle-point pupils on him and asked, "Then have you registered at the Scripture Institute?"

Lu Feng said, "Not yet."

Monk Mingli walked ahead. "Then I will take you to register at the Scripture Institute."

Lu Feng bowed in thanks once more.

He followed behind Elder Mingli, with Zhiyun following the elder without a word. Lu Feng actually understood that he had been given preferential treatment. Zhiyun had asked which Yidam he wished to worship, but in reality, student monks did not choose the Yidam for their empowerment. Yidams could not be chosen; they depended on "affinity."

More than half the reason Zhiyun accommodated Lu Feng so readily was the second-class lineage to which Zhuogedunzhu belonged—he was forming a favorable connection. Under normal circumstances, one had to start with the heavenly stems and earthly branches and the year and month of birth. It was not a matter of worshipping whichever Yidam one wished. One could only worship whichever Yidam one's Yidam Lama deemed suitable.

The King Mingzhu Dharma Lineage that Lu Feng had mentioned was especially unusual in its transmission. After Monk Mingli heard this, the three headed toward the Scripture Institute, with Monk Mingli in front, Zhiyun in the middle, and Lu Feng at the rear.

Elder Mingli held the Iron Staff. With his strength, lifting it took no more effort than blowing away dust, yet he insisted on striking it against the ground, making a "thunk, thunk, thunk" for others to hear.

This was the power of a monastic official's authority.

Every monk who heard the sound moved aside, head lowered, not daring to look at him at all. Any slaves they encountered knelt and prostrated themselves on the ground, not even daring to breathe out.

Lu Feng looked at these people, then averted his eyes and walked on, quietly reciting a mantra. The Six-Syllable Great Brightness Mantra could help dispel illness and pain and soothe wounds. Great compassion resonance emanated from him and seeped into their bodies.

Both Zhiyun and Monk Mingli noticed this great compassion resonance, but neither spoke up to caution him.

If Lu Feng wished to recite mantras for these beasts, then let him recite mantras for these beasts.

No secrets could stay hidden in the Endless White Pagoda Temple. News that Elder Mingli was taking Lu Feng to the Scripture Institute soon reached Elder Mingfa, Elder Mingchu (the academy's Granary Elder under the granary administration), and others, including Monk Zhiguang, who was still bedridden from his beating. Each had his own thoughts. Elder Mingfa looked at the monk kneeling on the ground who had come to report the news, still without saying a word.

He leafed through a scripture, surrounded by several offerings. After a long while, he said, "Let him be."

The attendant monk left. Elder Mingfa truly did not give Lu Feng any thought. If he did not act this time, there would be no next time for him. He was waiting. Judging by the pattern over successive generations, the Abbot Venerable would pass into nirvana within these ten years. Once the Abbot Venerable passed into nirvana, every monk would be plundered, apart from those with deep ties to the Tusi and the Dzongben Nobles.

Elder Mingfa was in no hurry.

The Abbot Venerable was helping his own lineage find a way out, seizing enough benefits.

Elder Mingfa remained unhurried.

Some patterns would not bend to human will, not even the Abbot Venerable's.

"You, too, are only one man."

Elder Mingfa spoke slowly. He tossed another piece of Tibetan Incense into the censer, watched fine threads of smoke rise from its mouth, then closed his eyes and resumed his mantra practice.

Waiting for the opportunity to emerge, quietly awaiting events to unfold.